At Kurd Qaburstan, an ancient site in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, a UCF-led team has uncovered the first substantial group of cuneiform tablets found in the Erbil region, along with evidence of large-scale destruction, mass graves and citywide fortifications. Together, the discoveries are providing one of the clearest archaeological records yet uncovered of siege warfare and urban life during the Middle Bronze Age.

“Our 2025 research produced clear archaeological evidence linking the site to the siege of Qabra, beginning with the first significant group of cuneiform tablets found on the Erbil Plain,” says Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, associate professor of history at UCF and director of the Kurd Qaburstan project. “Several tablets are dated within days of each other, matching the timeline of the city’s fall.”

The project is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and conducted in partnership with the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Heritage in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The funded excavations took place during two summer seasons in 2024 and 2025.

A Lost Archive Emerges

Researchers recovered 20 cuneiform tablets and more than 100 administrative sealings from destruction layers within the Lower Town East Palace. The artifacts are being studied by epigraphers Paul Delnero (Johns Hopkins șŁœÇֱȄ) and Parker Zane (Yale șŁœÇֱȄ), along with art historian Marian Feldman (Johns Hopkins șŁœÇֱȄ).

The texts include palace administrative records and a letter that may reference a high-ranking official connected to Qabra. Some inscriptions may also correspond to the destruction described on the Victory Stele of Dadusha.

“Most of the tablets are administrative and provide a snapshot of palace life and the economy of the ancient city,” Earley-Spadoni says. “One tablet appears to have been written by a high-ranking official in ancient Qabra.”

Evidence of Siege Warfare

Collapsed structures, burned layers and concentrated debris suggest a coordinated and possibly prolonged assault.

“The two superimposed destructions match the historical sequence of the siege of Qabra and its conquest by Shamshi Addu,” Earley-Spadoni says. “The charred debris, the large number of ceramic vessels and individuals who met untimely deaths and were buried in the destruction layers, provide the clearest archaeological case of Middle Bronze Age siege warfare yet discovered in northern Mesopotamia.”

The Human Toll of Conflict

Within the palace destruction layers, researchers discovered the remains of 17 individuals, studied by bioarchaeologist Andrea Zurek-Ost at Michigan State șŁœÇֱȄ.

“The individuals were not formally buried and had no associated grave goods,” Earley-Spadoni says. “Some appear to have been left where they died, including possible palace workers. One individual was found face down over a stone basin.”

Researchers also uncovered a preserved street with an engineered drainage system and domestic spaces used for food processing and textile production, pointing to sophisticated infrastructure and economic activity.

Mapping an Ancient City at Scale

“The evidence from Kurd Qaburstan shows that northern cities could be large, complex, and politically significant, with administrative systems, fortifications, and infrastructure comparable to those of the best-known southern sites.”—Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, director of the Kurd Qaburstan Project

The team also completed a magnetometer survey covering more than 80 hectares (about 180 acres). The survey, which measures changes in Earth’s magnetic field to detect buried structures, was led by Andrew Creekmore III at the șŁœÇֱȄ of Northern Colorado. The survey revealed a monumental wall with bastions encircling the site.

The fortifications correspond with those depicted on the Victory Stele of Dadusha and support the identification of Kurd Qaburstan as the ancient city of Qabra.

Rewriting the Story of Northern Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is often associated with southern cities like Uruk, long viewed as the center of early urban civilization. Discoveries at Kurd Qaburstan are helping highlight the value of northern cities, Earley-Spadoni says.

“The evidence from Kurd Qaburstan shows that northern cities could be large, complex, and politically significant, with administrative systems, fortifications, and infrastructure comparable to those of the best-known southern sites,” she says.

These discoveries build on a decade of prior excavation at Kurd Qaburstan by Johns Hopkins șŁœÇֱȄ, revealing a city long absent from the historical record.

“Laboratory investigations are underway, including isotopic and ancient DNA analyses of the 17 individuals,” Earley-Spadoni says. “This work will help researchers understand their origins and relationships.”

Each discovery brings researchers closer to understanding how this ancient city functioned and how it ultimately fell.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award No. 2344957. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. Work was conducted with the permission, support, and collaboration of the Directorate-General of Antiquities of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Director-General Kak Kaify Mustafa Ali, and the Erbil Department of Antiquities, Director Kak Nader Babakr.

On how the ocean changed him:

I’ve never been as calm as I’ve been since returning to land. I’m a kind of restless person in general, somewhat impulsive in certain contexts. I always feel the need to do something, another adventure in nature. I have this fire in me that just makes me adventurous. But I think the success of the crossing, including the three years of preparation, gave me a lot of confidence. And with confidence, I think came the calmness of knowing I didn’t need to prove anything to anyone anymore.

World Ocean Day is June 8.

On UCF’s influence in pursuing his dreams:

It was once a dream of mine to leave my home country and do research with NASA. Coming to UCF, I realized that dream. Maybe at one point I wouldn’t have been able to think rowing an ocean was possible, but achieving my dream at UCF gave me the courage to try.

On the role a common goal can have in a team’s viability:

Our ultimate goal was to cross the ocean such that we would be willing and able to do it again in the next few years with the same team. This is the first time I am admitting out loud, I think we failed at that — none of us wishes to row an ocean again, nor are we planning another adventure with the same team.

So, though I have to admit we didn’t succeed in the ultimate holistic goal that we had, I think our crossing in general was quite successful. What I didn’t understand going into this was how strongly a common goal can influence your ability to withstand stress, interpersonal stress or annoyances from other team members. Everyone in this team had to work properly for us to be able to complete the goal. So even though we had that interpersonal tension and occasional conflicts, because of the salience of the shared goal, we were able to work through it.

On the breathtaking force of mother nature:

The ocean is so vast and so powerful. You’re nothing. We felt that the most when we had a school of whales approaching us from the stern. We saw them breaching, and then one whale swam under our boat, and we saw that it was longer than our boat, like 30 feet at least. It could have just pushed our boat over and do whatever it wanted with us. We had no power whatsoever.

And I really enjoyed the storms. During the last week we had such a strong wind coming from behind, with rain falling literally horizontally. It hurts when it hits you. The rain comes on so strong. And then the wind was so strong that it just pushed our boat. We usually did like 3 knots on our own, but the speed at that moment was 7 knots without rowing. We raised our oars and they became sails basically. We felt how the wind pushed through our oars. You’re just experiencing this unbelievable power of nature. It was amazing.

On his new motto — “Don’t fight with the ocean”:

Just don’t fight with the ocean because you can’t win. There is no point. Just let things be, let them go. I think this was one of the things that I really took back with me from the experience. I can apply this anywhere. Like at the workplace, if we have colleagues who are difficult to deal with, you can’t change them. You can’t fight with the ocean. You can only change your own reactions and thoughts.

On halfway home still being a far way to go:

After we crossed the halfway point, it became more difficult. You would expect that maybe it gets easier because, oh, half is done, only half more to go, but only half more is still 20 days. It’s three more weeks. It’s still a lot of time to be thinking about, What do you want do when you finish? What do you want to eat? What are you going to do when you get back home? I think we as a team mentally got to the finish too fast. We really had to take a step back and remind ourselves to take it two hours at a time.

On the feeling of seeing land for the first time after 39 days:

We arrived at sunrise. When the light appeared and we saw those cliffs, it’s just something so overwhelming and unique, this feeling of, ‘It’s over. It’s done — 40 days of suffering basically has ended.’ As we entered the harbor, we saw our family and friends were up there on the cliff, waving the flags and then the finish flare going off. It was the high point, definitely.

On how the experience gave insight into his research on teams in extreme, isolated and confined environments:

I think one of the main takeaways that I got from this project was really that preparation is everything. Everyone externally was focusing on the mission, the row, because of course that’s the exciting part. For us, completing the row was the goal, but it’s the smallest piece of the whole project. The three years of preparation and those difficulties that we had, this was much more important.

So now for my research, I’m thinking, we’re always focusing on the part or the actual mission. It’s not necessarily irrelevant, but the mission is the outcome. The input that we should study is before the mission, the preparations. So that informs my future research quite a bit.

On what’s next:

I graduate in the summer. Days before we started the race, I accepted a job offer, which was a relief. I was prepared to take job interviews on the boat. I’m starting as an assistant professor of industrial/organizational psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson șŁœÇֱȄ in New Jersey in August.

I realized that I don’t like this type of several-weeks-endurance events, it’s too monotonous, too dull. I was thinking that my next big thing would be skiing across Greenland, which is more than a month as well. But now, no, thank you. There’s not enough variability, or excitement, for me. I love mountaineering, summiting a mountain in a few days. I just bought new mountain boots, so I think this will be my next thing.

Name: Christopher Emrich
±ÊŽÇČőŸ±łÙŸ±ŽÇČÔ(Čő):ÌęBoardman Endowed Professor of Environmental Science and Public Administration and founding member of UCF’s National Center for Integrated Coastal Research

Why are you interested in this research?
A main reason stems from my childhood in Florida — constantly being exposed to a variety of hazards and seeing how communities were impacted in different ways. Being able to study geography at a state university, the  șŁœÇֱȄ of South Florida, and then completing my Ph.D. at the șŁœÇֱȄ of South Carolina under the tutelage of leading experts in the field really helped solidify that I wanted to become an expert in both the hazards themselves and what we can do to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and rebound from them.

My time with FEMA supporting long-term recovery in Florida pushed me further to understand what is keeping people from recovering as quickly as some might expect. Tying all of these strings together really helped me pinpoint that one of the problems is that people are thirsty for knowledge. Learning how to turn data into information in order to extract meaningful knowledge has positioned me into a place that has meaning and impact for those attempting to make real-time decisions about hazards and disasters — from before the storm through the recovery period.

Who inspires you to conduct your research?
Seeing the suffering that takes place following disaster — suffering that could be avoided if society (people, governments and organizations) took the right steps to prepare for disasters — is what really drives what I do. I think that we can make simple changes to the way we do business that could lead to really impactful positive outcomes for disaster survivors.

How does UCF empower you to do your research?
UCF has given me space and opportunity to explore the different aspects of hazard threat identification and vulnerability assessment.  Partnering with experts at DIST, and partners at FDOH, and the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (among others)  we have been able to create open access websites like hazardaware.org, vulnerabilitymap.org, hazardrisk.org, and the Florida Public Health Risk Assessment tool (flphrat.com).  Each of these share the common goal of translating data into knowledge to support better emergency management decision making and preparedness planning.

What major grants and honors have you earned to support your research?
Since arriving at UCF, I have been awarded $10.8 million across 34 different extramurally supported grants and contracts. This includes grants of over $300K from funders including the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program, the State of Florida, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Along the way, I have been awarded UCF’s Research Incentive Award twice (2021 and 2026) and UCF’s Luminary Award.

Why is this research important?
American political philosopher John Rawl’s once said, “The natural distribution is neither just nor unjust; nor is it unjust that persons are born into society at some particular position.”

I think it is a responsibility of each person, each organization, each governmental entity  — and society as a whole —  to support those who need the most help among us. If we do not, how can we ever hope to move our society into a better position? My research supports making decisions that help those in most need, including those most at risk and with the least resources, to be better positioned for the next disaster.

Florida’s coastlines are changing, and so are the fish that depend on them.

As rising temperatures push tropical species northward and mangrove habitats expand into areas historically dominated by salt marshes, scientists are racing to understand how these shifts could affect marine food webs and long-term ecosystem stability.

Meredith Pratt, a UCF integrative and conservation biology doctoral student, is helping answer those questions. Her research on sustainable fisheries management along Florida’s east coast earned her the prestigious Florida Sea Grant/Guy Harvey Fellowship. The highly competitive award supports graduate students conducting research that informs marine conservation and fisheries management while cultivating future leaders in marine science.

Tracking a Changing Ecosystem

Pratt studies how tropicalization — the northward movement of tropical species and habitats — is altering Florida’s coastal ecosystems.

“As temperatures rise, mangroves, traditionally found in warmer, tropical regions, are expanding northward into areas historically dominated by salt marshes,” she says. “This shift is influencing the species that live there.”

To understand these changes, Pratt and her team study fish communities along Florida’s east coast. One fellowship-supported project focuses on predator-prey dynamics among popular sport fish, including common snook, red drum and spotted sea trout.

“The most interesting result so far is that the same fish species are eating different things, … and that raises important questions about how continued mangrove expansion could impact the ecosystem in the long term.”

“The most interesting result so far is that the same fish species are eating different things depending on whether they inhabit traditional salt marshes or increasingly dominant mangrove environments,” Pratt says. “While most species primarily feed on shrimp, common snook tend to consume more fish, and that raises important questions about how continued mangrove expansion could impact the ecosystem in the long term.”

These findings were supported through lab gut analysis of fish samples collected in the field using seine nets to determine stomach contents. Because digestion can make some prey difficult to identify, Pratt also used stable isotope analysis, which provides insight into a fish’sposition in the food web based on chemical signatures in its tissue.

“Gut content analysis shows us exactly what a fish recently ate, while stable isotopes give us a longer-term picture of its diet,” she says. “Together, they allow us to answer questions we couldn’t with just one method alone.”

Guiding Future Fisheries Management

The research is both environmentally and economically important to Florida. As one of the world’s premier fishing destinations, the state depends on healthy coastal ecosystems and fish populations to support its recreational and commercial fisheries.

“Many of the fish we rely on start in estuaries and coastal environments,” Pratt says. “They grow in protected areas like mangroves and salt marshes before moving offshore. If we don’t understand how those habitats are changing, we can’t effectively manage the fisheries that depend on them.”

Connecting Science and Community

Pratt is also expanding the impact of her research beyond the lab. Through her National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship, she launched the Guana Tolomato Matanzas (GTM) Fisheries Monitoring Program at the GTM National Estuarine Research Reserve.

“Getting people involved and helping them understand the importance of this work makes a big difference.”

The volunteer-driven initiative trains community members to collect fisheries data at designated sites, including species identification, abundance and size measurements. With nearly 20 volunteers participating, the program provides valuable long-term data while increasing public involvement in scientific research.

“It’s been one of the most rewarding parts of my Ph.D.,” Pratt says. “Getting people involved and helping them understand the importance of this work makes a big difference.”

A Full Circle Moment

For Pratt, earning the Florida Sea Grant/Guy Harvey Fellowship was a full-circle moment. As an undergraduate, she completed many of her classes and research experiences at the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center at Nova Southeastern șŁœÇֱȄ. Now, funding from Florida Sea Grant and the Guy Harvey Foundation is helping advance her research while providing professional development opportunities in science communication.

“This fellowship not only supports my research but also allows me to connect with other scientists, stakeholders and the public,” she says. “Sharing our findings and contributing to science communication is a really meaningful part of the experience.”

Looking ahead, Pratt hopes her work will support more informed decision-making around fisheries management and conservation.

“Conservation requires research and education working together,” she says. “If we can understand what’s happening and communicate that effectively, we can make better decisions to protect these ecosystems for future generations.”

±á±đ°ùÌęresearch, backed by a five-year $813,130 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant, found that an antimicrobial peptide naturally found in cows weakens the biofilm defenses of Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria and destroys it.

Now in their fourth year of research, Fleeman and her lab have discovered exactly how the peptide works in findings published in PLOS Pathogens.

“Our research is very advantageous for healthcare because about 80% of bacterial infections being treated in the clinic are bacteria living in a biofilm state, which makes them resistant to virtually every antibiotic available,” she says.

The results represent a critical step to potentially applying this peptide as a therapy and eventually treating patients, as the findings show they can and kill biofilm-embedded bacteria in animal models.

Parsing out the Peptide

K. pneumoniae is found in the intestines and is usually harmless, however, the bacterium develops resistance over a person’s lifetime as they are exposed to antibiotics. The bacteria also can spread from the intestine to other parts of the body in immunocompromised patients and those who have internal ruptures or exposure to contaminated medical devices. That exposure can lead to pneumonia, urinary tract or wound infections.

“What happens is the bacteria infects the wound, proliferates, and then invades through the bloodstream where it travels to the liver, kidneys and spleen,” Fleeman says. “We found our peptide was able to decrease the bacteria at the source while limiting the bacteria’s ability to move through the blood.”

Fleeman and her lab’s most recent study found that the peptide triggers a dual stress response that tricks the bacteria to break out of their protective biofilm.

They discovered the genetics of a specific protein in the bacterium when turned on in the germ causes it to break from its own protective biofilm. The peptide, in effect, damages the protection and then stresses the bacterium into shedding its protection, making the germ more sensitive to antibiotics and the body’s immune system.

“By hitting the membrane as well as protein synthesis at the same time, it’s a double punch that triggers a genetic change in the cell to make it think it needs to break out of the biofilm as a response to our peptide,” Fleeman says.

The team says their sustained research aims to demonstrate that their peptide can work synergistically with existing antibiotics. They envision long-term applications could involve a topical cream that weakens the bacteria’s defenses and allows standard antibiotics to work more effectively.

“We’re moving our research forward and we’re very hopeful,” Fleeman says.

Preparing for the Post-Antibiotic Era

The first author of this new work is Robert Beckman ’23, who graduated from UCF with a bachelor’s degree in health sciences, managed Fleeman’s lab and is now on his way to the șŁœÇֱȄ of Michigan for his Ph.D.

His previous work as an EMT gave him firsthand exposure to infectious diseases and their impact on patients. He says helping to lead the study and working with Fleeman helped prepare him for a career in medical research.

“I have developed a strong foundation in research and gained insight into the many components that define an effective scientist,” he says. “My long-term goal is to remain in academia and eventually lead my own research lab. I plan to continue focusing on bacteriology, with a particular emphasis on pathogenic bacteria and drug discovery applications.”

Funding and Disclosure:

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R00AI163295. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

At UCF, researchers working in space and semiconductor reliability, including those affiliated with the university’s Center for Reliability Evaluation of Space and Semiconductor Technologies (CRESST), are helping address the challenge. Through a new collaboration with TAU Systems, they will evaluate and benchmark an emerging approach to radiation testing designed to make the process faster, more accessible and easier to scale.

“Academic partnerships are central to how we move this technology forward,” TAU Systems CEO Jerome Paye says. “Universities like UCF bring deep scientific expertise, world-class facilities and a culture of rigorous validation that complements everything we are doing on the commercial side. That is the real value of working closely with academia, it accelerates the path from breakthrough science to deployable technology.”

“Universities like UCF bring deep scientific expertise, world-class facilities and a culture of rigorous validation that complements everything we are doing on the commercial side. That is the real value of working closely with academia, it accelerates the path from breakthrough science to deployable technology.”—Jerome Paye, CEO of TAU Systems

UCF’s established strengths in microelectronics and radiation effects, combined with its legacy as America’s Space șŁœÇֱȄ, make it a natural partner as TAU Systems works to validate and scale accelerator technologies designed to reduce the size and cost of radiation testing systems.

Making Room for Beamtime

When a high-energy particle from space radiation strikes a microchip, it can cause it to malfunction, a phenomenon known as a single-event effect (SEE). These events are a major concern for satellites, spacecraft and defensive systems, where even small disruptions can have significant consequences.

Studying these effects requires access to specialized particle accelerator facilities. This access, known as “beamtime,” is limited and in high demand, often booked months in advance and creating delays that can slow research and development.

“Access to heavy-ion beam facilities is one of the major bottlenecks in radiation effects research today,” says , assistant professor in and lead of the Radiation Effects Exploration Laboratory (REEL). “These facilities are limited in number, heavily oversubscribed and often require long scheduling timelines. That makes it difficult to rapidly evaluate modern microelectronics technologies that are increasingly being deployed in space and defense systems.”

Researchers typically study these effects using heavy-ion accelerators, specialized facilities capable of simulating the radiation conditions electronics experience in space. While effective, these facilities are expensive to operate, limited in number and often booked months in advance creating delays for researchers and industry seeking access to beamtime.

An Alternative to Heavy Ion Testing

A collaboration between UCF and TAU Systems aims to change that by testing a new approach known as electron-based single-event effects, or eSEE. Instead of relying on heavy ions, the method uses laser-driven electron beams to reproduce similar radiation-induced effects observed in space electronics.

“Electron-based SEE approaches could significantly expand access to radiation testing by enabling more flexible and scalable experimental platforms,” Zhang says. “Our role is to rigorously evaluate how these electron-driven methods compare with established heavy-ion testing and determine where they can provide reliable and meaningful insight for real-world applications,” Zhang says.

The approach has the potential to reduce systems that traditionally span kilometers to setups that could fit within a laboratory, lowering barriers to entry and expanding access to radiation testing.

Through the partnership, researchers will work to validate the new method by comparing its results against established heavy-ion testing data to determine when and how reliably it can replicate real-world radiation effects. The collaboration will also support test execution, data analysis and the refinement of validation techniques.

“A key part of this collaboration is establishing confidence in the methodology through direct benchmarking against conventional heavy-ion data,” Zhang says. “If successful, these approaches could help accelerate qualification workflows for advanced semiconductor technologies used in space, aerospace and national security applications.

Forging a Future in Space

UCF’s work in space and semiconductor research, including efforts led through CRESST, positions the university as a contributor to advancing radiation testing capabilities. Located near Florida’s Space Coast and long connected to the nation’s aerospace industry, UCF supports research and workforce development tied to emerging space technologies.

If successful, the collaboration could lead to the deployment of a compact testing system at UCF, expanding access to radiation testing and helping train the next generation of engineers and researchers. By expanding access to radiation testing infrastructure, the effort could help accelerate the development of more resilient electronics for space, defense and commercial applications.

A newly published study in  is taking a broader look at how societies have organized power across history, combining archaeological and historical evidence to better understand governance over time.

Coauthor Sarah “Stacy” Barber, professor and associate chair for UCF’s , says the project was driven in part by the growing availability of archaeological data and a need to think more expansively about human history.

“Archaeology has been a scientific area of study for about a century, so we now have 100 years of aggregate data about ancient societies,” Barber says.

She explains that many past societies are often excluded from research because they did not leave behind written records the way most European, South Asian and East Asian societies did. Incorporating archaeological evidence ensures that the interpretation of ancient governance is not limited to societies with written history but instead allows for the reflection of an array of human experience.

“When we forget about huge swaths of our past, we are weakening our ability to make decisions in the present, so anything that broadens our knowledge of how people can be people is a good thing,” Barber says. “It opens paths to other options that may be more sustainable or more just in the future.”

Challenging Assumptions About Power

One of the study’s key findings challenges the assumption that population size determines how power is organized.

Although very densely populated societies are more likely to align with an autocracy — one person ruling with absolute power — Barber says the study found there are other options for managing large populations that do not require autocratic governance.

Instead, access to resources and funding play a more critical role in shaping governance structures.

“When the governing entities are relying on funding that comes from taxation and the general population, the population is going to have more influence in governing decisions, and leaders are constrained in how they can decide to use those resources,” she says.

The study also points to a connection between governance and potential for imbalance.

“The less your governing regime has to answer to the populace, the more your governing regime can amass wealth for its own interests as opposed to the interests of everyone,” Barber says.

Expanding the Definition of Governance

The study approaches governance as a spectrum rather than a set of fixed categories, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of how societies function and the wide range of ways that humans organize themselves. To analyze governance across societies, the research team developed an index focused on two key factors: how concentrated power is and how much of the population is involved in decision making.

“We broke it down in terms of how many individuals or entities were involved in making decisions for a general population, and what proportion of the population was involved or had a voice in governing decisions,” Barber says.

Looking Ahead

Barber says the team’s plans for future research could expand the number of cases studied to determine whether findings shift as more societies from additional world regions are included.

More broadly, she says the work creates space for scholars to revisit fundamental ideas about governance.

“This research offers opportunities for scholars across the social sciences to reconsider what we mean by ‘democracy’ and to try and refine our understanding of how different aspects of governance affect the well-being of everyday citizens,” she says. “We have the choice to reframe the way we live and redirect our futures, if we as a society deem it necessary. The future is not inevitable, and history shows us that.”

The funding for this project was provided to the project leads by The Coalition for Archaeological Synthesis, the Amerind Foundation, and the Field Museum of Natural History provided the funds to hold two workshops at the Amerind Foundation in Dragoon, Arizona. Publication support was provided to co-author David Stasavage by Arts & Science at New York șŁœÇֱȄ.

By modifying the material at the atomic level, the researchers at , led by , significantly improved the reaction’s energy efficiency while maintaining industrial production rates.

The findings were recently published in Nature Communications.

Atomically Perfect Imperfections

The new material was created using a method known as defect modification.

At the nanoscale, carbon materials contain atomic-level imperfections, or “defects,” Yang says. Some of these defects help drive chemical reactions, while others reduce efficiency and create instability. Yang and his team focused on stabilizing the harmful defects while preserving the beneficial ones.

“We found that adding a small amount of fluorine — the same element found in toothpaste — can ‘heal’ or stabilize the harmful defects while keeping the helpful ones active,” Yang says.

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) plays a critical role across industries, including wastewater treatment, semiconductor manufacturing, and medical sterilization.

“Today, most hydrogen peroxide is produced in large, centralized factories using an energy-intensive process,” Yang says. “It then has to be transported, which adds cost and safety risks. Our work offers a simpler, cleaner, and more efficient way to produce hydrogen peroxide using electricity, potentially, wherever it is needed.”

Engineered Efficiency

After stabilizing the atomic defects, the team observed minimal wasted reactions and high production rates. The material can withstand industrial-level electrical currents of 1 amp per square centimeter and maintain stable performance for more than 100 hours.

When paired with methanol oxidation, the system requires less energy than conventional approaches. The researchers’ economic modeling suggests a commercial version of the system could reduce environmental impact while remaining financially competitive.

Beyond hydrogen peroxide production, the research demonstrates a broader strategy for materials engineering.

“Instead of randomly modifying materials and hoping for improvement, we used computer modeling, statistical screening, and careful experimental validation to design the exact atomic structures that work best,” Yang says.

UCF filed a patent application for this technology to cover its novelty and use, with the intent of commercializing the technology and expanding collaboration with industry partners.

Some of the nation’s most promising scientists can be found in Will Furiosi ’13 ’14MAT’s Oviedo High School classroom.

Spend five minutes talking to Ankan Das, Angela Calvo-Chumbimuni and Moitri Santra about their research innovations in robotics, mental health and agriculture, and one truth becomes quite clear: These teens are the real deal.

Backed by UCF associate professors Ellen Kang (physics and NanoScience Technology Center) and Candice Bridge ’07±Êłó¶Ù (chemistry) and researcher Max Kuehn ’22 (Exolith Lab), the Oviedo High trio recently earned recognition as the top three projects at Seminole County’s regional science fair.

With Oviedo’s proximity to main campus, the collaboration highlights UCF’s steadfast commitment to supporting STEM education across Central Florida.

They went on to represent the county admirably at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Phoenix, where they took home several prizes against more than 1,700 high schoolers from around the globe.

Most notably, Santra took home first place and $6,000 in the Plant Sciences category and received the EU Contest for Young Scientists Award. She will represent Regeneron ISEF at the EU Contest for Young Scientists to be held this September in Kiel, Germany.

“Working in Dr. Kang’s lab played pretty big role in choosing materials science and engineering as my major for college because I was exposed to just how many different things someone can do in the area I work with, nanotechnology,” says Santra, a senior bound for Stanford who has worked with Kang since she was a freshman. “The lab provided a lot of resources — not just the instruments, but also mentorship, advice and support.”

A Will to Succeed

The hallway leading to Furiosi’s classroom is decorated with rows of blue, red, white, green, yellow and pink paper accomplishment ribbons. More ribbons, pennants and certificates adorn his walls, along with eight Science and Engineering Fair of Florida best-in-fair grand award senior division trophies — more than any other high school in the state.

During his own primary education, Furiosi attended eight schools over 12 years. As a seventh-grader at Stone Magnet Middle School in Brevard County, he was initially prohibited from participating in science fair because officials couldn’t verify Furiosi was capable of the coursework from his transfer transcripts. He would later go on to earn Order of Pegasus as a Burnett Honors Scholar majoring in biomedical sciences before earning his master’s degree in teacher education.

Every day, he saw a wall of ribbons, much like the ones in his classroom now. And every day he would tell himself, “I want to be one of those kids.”

That experience fundamentally shaped how the UCF grad runs his program today.

“What keeps me motivated is knowing that I have the opportunity to get people to be really prepared, informed citizens who are good thinkers, and who, when faced with a problem, smile and tackle it instead of running away,” Furosi says.

Infusing Life into Science

Furiosi began teaching at Oviedo High School in 2013 as he pursued his accelerated master’s degree, made possible by the College of Community Innovation and Education’s Resident Teacher Professional Preparation Program. The program, funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant, was created in response to the growing need for skilled workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Four years later, he took over the school’s science fair program and was determined to breathe new life into it, which at the time involved just four kids.

He cold called students in his AP Biology and Honors Chemistry courses, begging anyone who had shown a glimmer of interest during class to sign up so they wouldn’t have to fold the program.

Today, he’s at 46 students, with some, like Calvo-Chumbimuni, interested in joining the program as soon as they arrive at Oviedo High.

“My seventh grade science fair teacher knew Mr. Furiosi and spoke highly of him,” says Calvo-Chumbimuni, who earned fourth place ISEF’s biochemistry category this year. “When I came to Oviedo High and met him, I immediately understood why. The research program stood out to me as a valuable opportunity.”

Furiosi fosters a safe space to fail, learn and grow from the research. There are no barriers to entry; no project deemed too insignificant. And he stresses the merits of high-quality mentorship, like the ones Das, Santra, and Calvo-Chumbimuni formed with UCF faculty and STEM labs.

Some of his students have earned thousands of dollars in prizes — one alone pulled in $70,000 and is now studying at the șŁœÇֱȄ of Glasgow — at prestigious competitions sponsored by some of the tech industry’s biggest names, including Regeneron and Lockheed Martin, a UCF Pegasus Partner.

His alums have gone on to top research institutions including Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Stanford, and of course, UCF. One of those Knights is aerospace engineering grad Daniel Dyson ’21 ’22MS ’25PhD, who studied in Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Subith Vasu’s lab and now works for Relativity Space at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, America’s largest rocket propulsion test site.

“Mr. Furiosi really pushes you toward excellence,” says Das, a sophomore building a tensegrity robot with shape memory alloys that he tested at UCF’s Exolith Lab.

Supporting Excellence

An award-winning researcher who has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, Kang is not easily impressed. Still, Santra made an immediate impression as an eighth grader when she first popped up Kang’s inbox, asking if she could present her idea on a nanoparticle treatment for citrus greening disease in Florida.

“I could clearly see that she had a firm understanding of the material and just thought, ‘Wow, she is really a force.’ I actually wanted to have my undergrad students see her presentation because of how professional she was, even at that young age,” Kang says. “She has this creativity, passion, persistence and resilience — all the key elements that you need as a successful STEM field researcher.”

Similarly, Bridge immediately noticed Calvo-Chumbimuni’s persistence and go-getter attitude when she initially connected with her two years ago. Driven by her interest in the intersection of neuroscience, psychology and analytical chemistry, Calvo-Chumbimuni pitched her idea to develop an electrochemical sensor and biosensor to improve diagnostic methods for mental health disorders.

“I’ve always appreciated her sense of humanity,” Bridge says. “I thought, ‘If you can foster someone who has this sort of compassion already, there are infinite possibilities for what they can do to benefit the community.’ ”

The two have been dedicated, active participants in their labs, regularly conducting research multiple days per week during the school year and, at times, daily over the summer.

The faculty and their doctoral students have mentored the high schoolers through instrumentation methods, analyzing data, the literature review process and their presentations.

Both presented continuations of their projects at ISEF — Calvo-Chumbimuni for her second-straight year, Santra for her third — while Das made his first time at the competition memorable with his fourth-place finish in the engineering technology: statics and dynamics category.

Kuehn, who is an engineer at , is accustomed to working with a variety of researchers and scientists who test their experiments and equipment at the Highland Regolith Test Bin. He says he was quickly intrigued by Das’ project, a lightweight and nimble robot that can expand, contract and move through electric current.

Das wanted to test the robot in lunar regolith — simulated moon dirt — because he envisions the tech behind his robot one day being utilized in lunar missions or search and rescue efforts in unstable environments.

“Max noticed that sometimes the motion was a little slow, so he gave some suggestions,” Das says. “Working in the lunar regolith chamber was a very insightful and eye-opening experience. I know I’m still in high school, but I’ve learned I want to do research for as long as I can because I really find this interesting.”

Which, at the end of the day, has been Furiosi’s mission all along.

“Research is not just in science. It is in all disciplines. There’s a lot of cool things that need to be discovered in all fields,” he says. “UCF’s expertise has been so invaluable in preparing my students for the future. A lot of these kids have wonderful ideas, and I really hope we can continue growing more professional support for them in any capacity.”

The same curiosity that once led Jeonghyun Song to shape clay with his hands now drives him to engineer materials at an atomic level, combining chemistry and creativity.

He began his college journey in the arts, drawn to pottery. But as he worked with ceramics, his attention shifted beneath the surface — to the chemistry of the materials and the possibilities within them. That shift in perspective pushed him from the art studio into the lab — and now to a national fellowship.

A materials science and engineering major, Song will join the șŁœÇֱȄ of Notre Dame this summer as a recipient of its Nanoscience and Technology Undergraduate Research Fellowship, hosted from May 18 through July 24.

“I chose to attend UCF because of the opportunities it offers — especially in research — along with its strong engineering program.”

The opportunity marks a turning point in his journey from an arts major to an engineering major, which he began when he transferred to UCF in Fall 2025.

“I chose to attend UCF because of the opportunities it offers — especially in research — along with its strong engineering program,” Song says. “The MSE (Materials Science and Engineering) Program is relatively new and rapidly growing, which gives students more chances to get involved and grow.”

He didn’t waste time getting started.

As a new Knight and burgeoning materials researcher, Song set his sights on working with Assistant Professor Kausik Mukhopadhyay, whose research bridges materials, chemistry, biology and engineering to develop solutions for surfaces, coatings, electrochemistry and more.

Now in Mukhopadhyay’s , Song studies clay-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries.

“As a student who comes from a ceramics background, Dr. Mukhopadhyay’s research was the most interesting to me,” Song says. “Based on his work in chemistry and materials science, I knew his lab would be a place where I could grow and actively engage in research.”

The lab quickly became more than a workspace — it became a launchpad, which Song says he’s grateful for.

“I would like to thank Dr. Mukhopadhyay and the people in our group for their support,” he says. “If it wasn’t for them, I would have had a hard time blending into the UCF community.”

His perspective as a researcher is evolving, too.

“I find it more interesting to study how common … materials can be engineered to achieve similar or even more useful properties.”

Once drawn to examining rare and expensive materials for their unique characteristics, Song is now focused on factors in materials costs and environmental impact.

“While studying rare materials is interesting due to their distinct properties, I find it more interesting to study how common and inexpensive materials can be engineered to achieve similar or even more useful properties,” he says.

That mindset will guide his work at Notre Dame.

His project, “Prototyping High-speed Synthesis of Gold Microplates,” tackles a key challenge in nanotechnology: efficiently producing ultrathin gold coatings. These coatings are useful in technology like biosensors and electronics, but current synthesis methods are slow, and controlling their size, shape and placement is challenging.

Song will help explore faster synthesis methods using a reaction chamber to study the process through three activation approaches: light, temperature and merging chemical streams.

As he prepares to spend the summer in Indiana, Song acknowledges some anxiety — the kind that comes with stepping into something bigger — as he looks ahead to what could be a pivotal moment in his journey as a researcher.

“I would like to meet new people, learn from them and also expand my vision for research,” Song says. “I think this summer will be the most important for me in terms of deciding my future.”